ABOUT
Learn about Quilts by the Bay and where we draw our inspiration
HISTORY
Saint Mary's Bay & a Quilting History
Quilting and Saint Mary’s Bay have been with me throughout most of life. We wanted to commemorate that by incorporating the pair into the name – Quilts by the Bay
I’ve been quilting for 35 years, first taught by my husband’s grandmother along with my own being an avid quilter herself. We both have the passion of touching and buying beautiful fabric, cutting it up into small pieces to create something truly beautiful.
I take after her.
EXPANSION
Moving into the Garage
I sold my first quilt to put the kids in hockey and then decided to go further by making and selling more. I have three children who I helped put through post-secondary education, one nurse, one paramedic, and one teacher which makes the years of dedication to quilting worth it 10x over.
Once their education was complete, I splurged on fabric and ramped up production.
When we built a new house, we had intended on having a two-car garage, but the business was not showing any signs of slowing down. My husband offered the garage as a quilt shop, which is where we still are today.
QUILTS BY THE BAY SUPPORTING CAST
My Support System and Inspiration
I had been a paramedic for 25 years before committing to quilting and the only escape from the stress of that job was to get lost in my sewing world. I used to have a sewing machine in my locker at work, and between calls would sew, it was and is my escape world from all of the past bad calls at work.
I’ve had several quilts published in quilt magazines; I recently won a contest for northcott fabrics. That quilt is now traveling around the world in their trade shows, I’ll receive it back with a diary of where it has appeared around the world.
I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my husband, the inspiration from my aunt Chizuko.
